Regional social enterprise pioneer Lucy Findlay has been recognised in the Queens’ New Year Honours.

The founder founding of Social Enterprise Mark CIC, based in Plymouth, has been awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours list for ‘services to social enterprise’.

Lucy founded Social Enterprise Mark CIC in 2010 and over the last ten years, has developed the Social Enterprise Mark from a regional-funded project to an internationally available accreditation, which provides, for the first time, a clear standard and definition for the very broad social enterprise sector.

She has won the respect of the social enterprise and wider business community and was recognised on the WISE100 list of the most inspiring and influential Women in Social Enterprise in 2017 and 2018.

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She said: “'It's a real honour to receive this personal recognition and endorsement for my work in social enterprise.

“I haven't done it alone though. I would like to pay tribute to all my colleagues and friends who have stood by me and supported me over the years through both the highs and the lows of running a social enterprise."

Lucy’s career started in community regeneration, which sparked an interest in alternative business models.

She has played a major role in the development of the social enterprise sector in the South West, nationally and internationally over the past two decades.

She was the Chief Executive of RISE; the regional body for social enterprise in the South West, before founding Social Enterprise Mark CIC.

The organisation accredits a number of social enterprises in the region, including Real Ideas Organisation, Peninsula Dental Social Enterprise, and Plymouth College of Art, which holds the enhanced accreditation of the Social Enterprise Gold Mark.

Social Enterprise Mark CIC is a long-standing member of Plymouth Social Enterprise Network, and operates out of the HQ Business Centre, which is run by Plymouth social enterprise The Millfields Trust.